New York Democrats Regain Control of State Senate

 

​Mara Sloan
​DLCC Communications Director

 

 

WASHINGTON — The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) and New York Democrats have won control of the New York State Senate, creating a Democratic trifecta in the state.

 

“Congratulations to New York Democrats and incoming Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins!” said DLCC Executive Director Jessica Post. “With Democrats’ leadership in the state solidified, New York can pass policies previously blocked by Republicans to expand health care coverage, address climate change, and ensure women retain the right to make their own medical decisions. New York will once again be a progressive beacon as Democrats continue to build the blue wall of resistance against Washington Republicans’ extremist agenda.”

 

While Democrats held a numerical majority in the state Senate prior to Election Day, rogue Democratic state Senators caucused with Republicans, giving the GOP a functioning majority in the chamber. The DLCC played a key role in dismantling the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) earlier this year, and six of its former members were ousted by New York voters in the primaries earlier this year.

 

With Democrats in the majority, DLCC Board member and incoming Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins will become the first African American woman to lead the New York Senate.

 

The DLCC invested more than $623,000 in New York this cycle, which helped New York Democrats flip two Assembly seats and win a critical Senate seat in special elections earlier this year. The DLCC relied on its political expertise, in-state partnerships, and state-of-the-art data analytics and modeling tools to create smart strategies to deliver Democratic wins.

 

This year Democrats ran over 5,300 candidates – the most candidates for state legislatures since 1982. Nearly half of those candidates are women, and more than 1,100 are candidates of color. The DLCC knows that when Democrats hold the majority in state legislatures, more policies are passed into law that help all Americans. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is the only organization exclusively committed to electing Democrats to state legislatures all over the country and winning Democratic control of chambers. For over two decades, the DLCC has been working with state legislative leaders to invest strategically in state programs and rebuild the Democratic Party from the ground up. This cycle, the DLCC held 40 trainings with more than 800 candidates and staff to prepare state Democrats for success. With the help of the DLCC, state Democrats are leading the resistance against the Trump administration’s extremist policies while moving our nation forward one state at a time.

 

For more information or to schedule an interview with the DLCC, please contact Mara Sloan at [email protected].